Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: Lollygag

Since I'm a bit late in getting this post up (but hey, it's still Wednesday!), lollygag seems like a good word for today's slang-o-rama...>
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According to Merriam-Webster, in current usage, to lollygag is to fool around or dawdle. HOWEVER, its first use dates to about 1868, and back in the 19th century this word had an entirrrrrely different meaning!

So, what, back then, did lollygagging entail? Well, let's just say if you were strolling down Leadville's State Street in 1880 or so, you might see a lot of lollygagging going on.

My mother would be horrified, if she only knew...

NOTE: Lollygag was a "word of the day" on the Merriam-Webster site. You can hear a fascinating (and short) podcast about its etymology right here:https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lollygag. Well worth spending a minute and a half of your listening time.

I doubt very much you would ever catch these proper women lollygagging around (at least, in public!).